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I fully disagree. I myself have lived on the streets for a three month stretch when I was younger and whether hungry or not I never thought of stealing. I get your point that you feel the need to do it just to survive but there are other ways to cope whilst on the streets and people are willing to help you so why steal from others when you are being given a chance even if its a little bit of soup or a warm beverage.

Yes, as you are talking from experience you have a rather large point but may I say, supermarkets make billions in profit and say a value loaf of bread, is that really a big deal? To a potential child who is homeless?

And as I say again, you have charities which people donate to to provide food to these people, if they are not going there then that is their own fault. I used to walk miles from place to place each night hoping for a bed for the night and sometimes even missing out on food.

I get your point but there is ways to eat and get shelter or get out of it if you try and wait it out however hard it is. There is also groups who collect the food chucked out by supermarkets at the end of the night to distribute to the homeless, cake shops etc who give their bread at the end of the day, so why rob from them when they help?

That is the path to anarchy, today we steal a loaf to live tomorrow who makes the new loaf ? The baker cannot or will not make loaves if the poor simply steal them (and are allowed to get away with it).The baker needs the money to supply and live, or the baker will be poor and need to steal to live.

Sometimes keeping an eye on your stats is not a good thing

Some things are painfully obvious, others must be made obvious... painfully

Fair points, moving slightly away from topic, I still feel there is not enough support for homeless people, some circumstances are completely not their fault. From them on the streets, nothing, no food, no suit. Yes they have charities but how many supply a suit and deodorant so they can go get a job? They also need a permanent address usually and if they have no friends, where from there?

The way that I got myself on track again was through Salvation Army and even though I was not quite old enough to live in their small rooms as I was not deemed as an adult they did help feed me and give advice and actually helped me with documents, contacting support etc to getting on my feet again. And believe it or not but there are people who take you on even in jobs that may seem disgusting and belittling to you but you do it for a little income. There are places to get clothing and bedding even if you have to sleep or live in a corner closed off somewhere.

And as for a permanent address there are ways around this including those little bits of income and renting a P.O. Box etc

Fair enough In the future, many years from now I intend to once after hopefully having a successful and long career, to open a charity that supports homeless people getting onto their feet and into jobs, I'm extremely passionate about helping others and I honestly can't wait. Thanks for your input Synaphix

There is a show I forgot the name of that the rich move into poor areas for a week and see what is happening and help out (the secret millionaire I think?) and either it was the same show or a similar one that did it via living on the streets too even if America the same concept can apply for doing things here or elsewhere that would be a good thing to check out. You can already help out by volunteering in kitchens or giving out soup on weekends at special events etc, never too young to start!

And yes, I realise that not all homeless are grateful and can be downright rude but the majority of them you come across you may not even realise are homeless as they blend in due to issues about being seen homeless. When I was with my ex in Norwich in 2010 or so there was a guy who we approached and we ended up getting him a sandwich and bottle of water and he was extremely grateful, we stayed with him for about 45 minutes and met some of his friends who did not ask us for anything and explained how people had helped them or how they are clearing things up and able to get a roof over their head or job

I already help out a lot, I go into Manchester center every weekend or so and give out multiple bottles of water and sandwiches, I already am thinking about helping out in kitchens too and yes it was Secret Millionaire. It's a hard life for some, they don't deserve it in most cases.

MrsSekhmet wrote:There are foodbanks here and shelters where people can get food, they can even go to local supermarkets to ask for leftovers which aren't able to be sold anymore, so no.

Here taking leftovers out of a bin from a supermarket is an offense and not even the shop workers are allowed to take to out of date food home. i got massively told off for taking fury cheese when i had a super market job. its like if they cant sell it then no one can have it at all. so all the good food just goes to landfill...

If it were a choice between death or taking a loaf of bread then i couldn't really blame them at all.

Not sure legalising theft is the way to go though. It this opens up a massive can of worms:

Who decides who is allowed to steal and who isn't? Where is the cut off? How much money can you have in your pocket? What about those people who collect/beg/sell big issue but then spend it on cigs/booze/drugs - do they still get to steal their food?Who decides what they can steal? How much? How often? Bread is ok? What about meat or cheese or toothpaste?Who decides who they can steal it from? One loaf of bread doesn't matter much to tesco but what about a couple of dozen items from a small local shop every day in some town with lots of homeless?Are they allowed to steal my wallet to go buy food?Can they break into my house and raid my fridge?You mention suits for job interviews - are they allowed to steal those too?Who has to check who stole what and if it was allowed under the rules?

Being homeless must be awful and its a cycle that's hard to get out out i can see, but i don't see legalising theft as the way to go. Support for homeless may not be great in places, and awful in some, but there are charities and other organisations you can go to if it genuinely is a case between starve or steal a loaf. To be honest i cant remember hearing many cases of homeless people starving to death, so how big an issue actually is this?

I'd fully support more support for the homeless though!

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